Upward Bow or Wheel Pose
How to Perform Urdhva Dhanurasana
1. First, lie on the ground on your back.
2. Bend your elbows and, keeping them over your head, place the palms beneath the shoulders with your fingers pointing towards the feet. Make sure that the distance between the palms is no more than the shoulders’ width.
3. Bend your knees and raise them. Bring the feet closer to your hips until the feet are in contact with your hips.
4. During an exhalation, move the trunk upwards and place the crown of the head on the ground. Take a couple of breaths.
5. Now, during an exhalation, pull the trunk and head, form an arch of the back, and take the weight of your body on your palms and soles.
6. Straighten your arms from the shoulders until your elbows are stretched straight and simultaneously pull the thigh muscles upwards.
7. To stretch further, during an exhalation, pull the muscles of the thighs higher by lifting the heels off the ground. Stretch your chest and the sacral region until the abdomen is stretched taut like a drum, and lower the heels to the ground while simultaneously maintaining the spine’s stretch.
8. Hold this pose for 30 to 60 seconds and breathe normally. Exhale and lower the body to the ground by bending the elbows and knees. Repeat three times.Â
Urdhva Dhanurasana Benefits
Western Physiology
Urdhva Dhanurasana has a therapeutic effect on mental and physical health.
- Urdhva Dhanurasana improves mental health:
- It helps to relieve the symptoms of depression and anxiety (Bele et al., 2021).
- Urdhva Dhanurasana stretches and strengthens the muscles:
- It helps in stretching the abdominal muscles.
- It helps in stimulating the abdominal organs.
- It helps in stretching the wrists and arms.
- It contracts the quadratus lumborum muscle, which extends the lumbar spine (Rathore et al., 2017).
- Urdhva Dhanurasana benefits the spine:
- It helps stretch the spine and maintain its flexibility and elasticity (Song et al., 2022).
Yogic Physiology
This posture is said to elevate the heart and mind by stimulating udana vayu. It harmonises pitta, regulates samana vayu and stimulates agni.
The posture opens the and the hridaya marmas (heart marma points), Nabhi (navel) and Basti (bladder) marmas bringing pranic flow to these regions of the body. It opens Anahata Akash (the heart space). It opens the KUM region of the body, bridging a sense of lightness to the whole body and mind. It strengthens the heart lines in the arms and opens up vyana vayu, stimulating blood and lymphatic flow to limbs.
Contradictions and Cautions
- Back injury
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Diarrhea
- Headache
- Heart problems
- High or low blood pressure
Preparatory Asanas
- Bhujangasana
- Setu Bandha Sarvangasana
- Urdhva Mukha Shvanasana
- Virasana
Follow up Asanas
- Ardha Matsyendrasana
- Supta Padangusthasana
Tips for Beginners
The knees and feet tend to splay out as you rise into this pose, which compresses the lower back. In the starting position, fasten the loop and the belt around the hips just above the knees so that the hips are hip-width apart and parallel to each other. To prevent the feet from turning out, place a block between them so that the bases of the thumbs press on the ends of the block. As you rise, press your feet into the block.
Variations
Eka Pada Urdhva Dhanurasana is a more difficult variation of Urdhva Dhanurasana. Get in Urdhva Dhanurasana, shift your weight onto your left leg, and try bending your right knee and pulling it towards your body as you exhale. Then inhale and extend your right leg at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the floor. Hold for 5-10 seconds, exhale, bend your knee and return your foot to the ground. Repeat these steps with the left leg for the same duration.
Modifications and Props
To make it easier initially, place hands to bricks which will need to be backed and secured by the wall. This increases spinal extension range.
Often the armpits and/or groin are tight and limit full movement in this posture. Your hands or even the feet can be rested on a couple of blocks to help you achieve a full backbend. Be sure to lean the blocks against the wall.
You can cover them with a sticky mat to keep your hands or feet from slipping.
References
Bele A, Qureshi M, Ghogare A, Singh N, Jethwani D, Gachake A. Impact of exercises, yoga, and meditation on anxiety and depression during COVID 19 lockdown. J Datta Meghe Inst Med Sci Univ [serial online] 2021 [cited 2022 Jul 18];16:219-21. Available from: http://www.journaldmims.com/text.asp?2021/16/1/219/322618
Rathore M, Trivedi S, Abraham J, Sinha MB. Anatomical Correlation of Core Muscle Activation in Different Yogic Postures. Int J Yoga. 2017 May-Aug;10(2):59-66. doi: 10.4103/0973-6131.205515.
Song, S., Choi, Y., Cho, N., & Kim, H. (2022). Effects of Yoga on Pain, Function, and Depression in Individuals with Nonspecific-Low Back Pain. Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science, 11(2), 165-171. https://doi.org/10.14474/ptrs.2022.11.2.165
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